


Keith's Shirt

by Betareil, Lrtvldtrt, Sardonyx_xx



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura Doesn't Trust Matt, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Eventual Smut, First Kiss, First Time, Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Pidge Is So Fucking Done, Rating May Change, Sexual Tension, you'll see why - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2018-10-10 01:16:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10425990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Betareil/pseuds/Betareil, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lrtvldtrt/pseuds/Lrtvldtrt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sardonyx_xx/pseuds/Sardonyx_xx
Summary: Lance and Keith are slowly working through their rivalry. Some might even be on the verge of calling them friends. Sure, they've had their fights; who hasn't? But Lance really thinks, really hopes, that he and Keith can work it out. And maybe, just maybe, they can be more than teammates.Of course, it's hard to talk to a guy you've got a massive crush on.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flyingisland](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingisland/gifts), [lemoninagin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemoninagin/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Keith, That's Gay](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7868509) by [flyingisland](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingisland/pseuds/flyingisland), [lemoninagin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemoninagin/pseuds/lemoninagin). 



> Let me just warn you: I've never written smut before. 
> 
> That being said, it will be a while before they actually fuck. Of course, what sort of author would I be if I let them have sex in the first couple of chapters? No, let's angst this bitch up. 
> 
> Another note: I have no clue how long this will be, but it will be based partially off of another story on here that I'm absolutely in love with, it's so angsty and fluffy.
> 
> Now that that's out of the way, thanks for clicking on this. All comments are welcome, and if you feel I'm making them slightly out of character please tell me.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is an emotional drunk, and an even more emotional sober.  
> Keith is too gay for his own good.  
> Pidge is a scheming shit, but everyone loves them.  
> Hunk is the group's Space Therapist.  
> Shiro is Traumatized Space Dad (but what else is new)

The pounding in his head is initially what wakes Lance up. His head feels fuzzy, like the time he stole Tía Maria's drink without realizing there was alcohol in it. The headache he has now, though, is ten times worse.

Going against every fiber of his being, which wants desperately to go back to sleep, Lance slowly cracks his eyes open. The light blinds him, and he groans as he throws an arm over his face. Somewhere to his left, he hears a responding noise. Someone else is in agony in here.

He forces himself to open his eyes again, squinting. It honestly isn't even that bright in here, but it feels like his corneas are being gouged out by Wolverine. With another groan, he somehow manages to end up in a sitting position. Okay, so he's leaning against the wall, but whatever.

He's on the floor. Okay. He's also wearing a shirt that's not his. A plain black t-shirt. Not what he would have expected, but he's relieved nobody put him in a dress or something. He takes a breath and tries to focus. He doesn't know where he is, but it's not a room he's been in before. This room is decidedly messier than his, with random crap strewn about. Considering how Shiro and Hunk are both OCD neat-freaks, and Allura would never have allowed last night to happen if she knew about it, that leaves two options. Well, three if you count Coran. But Lance would rather not think about that.

The person to his right is muttering quietly, digging through a pile of clothes. Lance relaxes when he notices that most of the clothes are green. As if following his thoughts, Pidge tosses a shirt in his direction. "Here it is," Pidge says triumphantly.

Lance looks at the shirt that's fallen into his lap. "Is this mine?" He asks. It looks like one of his. Blue sleeves and neckline, white torso. "Why do you have one of my shirt?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist," they reply dismissively. "You decided to try and take a shower last night. I had to intervene."

He raises an eyebrow. "Why did you stop me?" His brings the shirt up to his face. Ugh. It smells like - well, whatever the hell they were drinking. He doesn't actually know what it was, just that Coran promised Hunk it would loosen them up a bit. He's sorely regretting trying it. While it smelled disgusting, it had a very fruity taste, and he alone drained a quarter of the bottle.

Pidge just stares at him. "You tried to strip in front of everyone," they tell him. "Don't you remember? Keith turned really red, and I nearly died from secondhand embarrassment. Someone had to stop you before you got completely naked."

"Are you serious? Oh quiznak. Sorry." He looks down at the black shirt he's currently wearing. Who's it it?

As if reading his mind, again, Pidge says, "Don't apologize to me, Keith is the one who donated his shirt to get you to chill." They turn their back on him and go over to the bed, where they flop down unelegantly. "You should have seen yourself. It was like it was Christmas or something. You got all teary-eyed and started babbling about his 'character.' It was hilarious." Their glasses glint evilly.

"You didn't do anything I'll pay for later, did you?" He primarily means recording Drunk Lance, but there are other implications.

Pidge picks up on them. "No, I didn't try to make you do anything. This time. Although you can't tell me you wouldn't have been happy to wake up in Keith's room."

He chokes. "Pidge!" he exclaims. "What the hell?" What was that supposed to mean?

"Oh, come on. Even you're not that much of an idiot." When Lance continues to stare blankly at them, they sigh. "Or maybe you are. How the hell you're so oblivious to your own feelings, I'll never know. You do realize that you basically just flirted with Keith all night, don't you?"

His jaw drops. "What? No, I didn't. I did not..." He trails off as memories flood his brain.

 

_"Keeeiiith," Lance sings, stumbling over to the grumpy red paladin._

_The paladin in question looks up from the blade he's polishing. He had refused to take more than a sip of Coran's alcoholic space juice. "What is it, Lance?" He sounds faintly exasperated, as usual._

_Lance plops down next to him. "Have I ever told you - hic - how much I love your eyes?" He asks. He grins at the other boy._

_Keith goes still, giving him a questioning look. "You're drunk, aren't you?" he accuses. Even so, there's a faint red staining his cheeks. Lance attributes it to the lighting._

_"Yep!" He pops the 'p' as he talks. "But your eyes. They're so gorgeous! All purple-y and mysterious!" He throws an arm over the lower half of his face. It'd be more dramatic if he actually had a cape. But he's too drunk to care too much. "I could look at them all day!" He attempts to do so, leaning forward until his nose is almost touching Keith's and staring at his eyes._

_Keith makes a choked noise and leans back a little, apparently trying to put some distance between them. Lance isn't going to let that slide, and keeps moving forward. The boys continue this awkward manuever until Lance abruptly realizes the Keith is as far back as he can go, with Lance practically laying on him._

_Beneath him, Keith is an interesting shade of pink. His heart is pounding rapidly in his chest; Lance can feel it. "Hi," he whispers. Keith gives some sort of noncommital noise in response, looking anywhere but Lance. Which is kind of difficult since their noses are touching, but a valiant effort nevertheless. "You're pink. You're not the Red Paladin, you should be the Pink Paladin!" Lance's head falls to the side to rest on Keith's shoulder as he snickers to himself._

_Keith sighs, seemingly relieved. "Stop messing around," he says. "You smell disgusting."_

_Lance frowns dramatically. "What do you mean?" He asks. He lifts his head, which is surprisingly difficult. His lips brush Keith's cheek as he tries to look at the other's face._

_Keith is turning red again when he replies. "Whatever that crap is, smells gross," he complains. "Go shower or something, wash the smell off."_

_Lance nods solemnly as if listening to wise advice, rather than having some boy tell him he stinks. He sits up, off of Keith now, and bends his head to sniff his shirt. It does reek. "Yes," he says. "You're right. I need to shower." He stands, and Pidge covers their eyes exaggeratedly as he yanks his shirt off._

 

The memory faded into the pain of a hangover, and Pidge staring at him expectantly. "Well?" They say. 

He cringes. He can't remember the rest, but it isn't hard to guess. "Kill me," he says, burying his face in his hands. "Just throw me out into space, Jesus Christ." Pidge smirks at him. "But, why did Keith give me his shirt? Why not Hunk or something?" 

Pidge snorts and pushes their glasses up their nose. "Hunk was passed out. Obviously, I wasn't giving up mine." 

"Okay, but what about Shiro?" He moves onto his knees, determined to slowly come into a standing position. "Where was he?" 

"Shiro was staring into space on the couch," Pidge says simply. As if that cleared things right up. "Besides, Keith didn't even hesitate. He didn't give anyone else any time to react."

Lance sighs. "Right. Well, I'm going to go shower." At least, he thinks he is. But as he shoves himself to his feet, far too quickly, he realizes it won't be that easy. He has to lean heavily against the wall to avoid collapsing again. 

Pidge breaks out laughing. "No, you're not." Between fits of giggles, they manage to come over and help him stand upright. "You're an idiot for drinking so much," they chastize. 

"And what about you?" Lance demands. "You drank, too." Secretly, of course. Shiro would never have allowed a 14 year old to drink. 

"I'm better at concealing a hangover, apparently," they say flatly. They lead him into the hallway and deposit him against a wall. "Now go away, I have stuff to work on." They leave him out in the hall and go into their room, shutting their door.

Lance sighs and begins to trek to the showers, using the wall as a support. As he passes Keith's room, he hears silence. _He's probably training,_ Lance thinks bitterly. _Asshole._  

~~

Roughly an hour later, Lance emerges from his shower. He feels loads better, though he still has a headache. Maybe Coran has something to help. Or he could ask Hunk to whip up some special hangover cure. Grabbing the first shirt his hands reach, he pulls it over his head. Picking up the rest of his stuff, he nudges open the door and comes out into the hall. 

As he's walking back to his room, he nearly runs into Keith. The other boy is sweaty and clearly tired; Lance knows he guessed correctly that Keith was training. "Morning, Keith," he says nonchalantly. 

He waits for a response, then notices that Keith seems to be focused on something else. And that something else seems to be Lance's torso. "Keith?" 

Keith blinks hard, lifting his gaze to meet Lance's. "Huh? Sorry, I zoned out for a minute." Like last night, he almost looks pink.

"Yeah, you did," Lance agrees. "You were staring right at my chest." Maybe saying it so casually wasn't a good idea, judging by how Keith's eyes bug out. 

He shakes his head rapidly, turning the same shade of red as last night. "No, no, I wasn't," he denies. "You're still wearing my shirt." 

The sudden change in subject works. "What?" Lance glances down. "Oh, I guess I am. I didn't even notice." He realizes quite suddenly what this might look like to anyone who stumbles upon them. He can feel his cheeks heat up. "I, uh, I can give it back, if you need it," he stammers out. 

Keith looks equally mortified. "Yeah, just. Just bring it by my room later," he replies. "I have to go do stuff." 

It's a lame excuse, but Lance is thankful for it. "Uh, yeah, you g-go do that. See you later." Keith practically runs around the corner, and Lance wastes no time in going back to his room to drop his stuff off and grab his jacket. Then he goes to find Hunk.

Hunk is, predictably, just starting his day, rummaging around in the kitchen with a miserable look on his face. "Why doesn't this ship have orange juice?" he grumbles. He looks up as Lance comes in and takes a seat. "Talk quietly, please. My head is going to explode." 

Seeing Hunk's misery forces a laugh from Lance. "And I thought I was a lightweight," he says. "I drank twice as much as you did!" 

Hunk settles for a glass of some mysterious purple liquid and sits down next to his friend. "Yeah, but you have more of an alcohol tolerance. You always got drunk when we snuck out back at the Garrison." 

"You have no proof," Lance denies immediately. An old habit. He always had to hide his hangovers back on earth. Both the Garrison and his mother would have killed him for underage drinking. 

Hunk watches Lance fiddle absentmindedly with his jacket as he sips the purple stuff in his glass. It tastes almost like bananas. "Is that Keith's shirt?" He asks softly. 

Lance sits up straight. "It's not what it looks like!" When Hunk just stares at him questioningly, Lance explains last night's post-Hunk events. 

Once he's done, Hunk doesn't say much. He swirls his drink around in his hand. Eventually, he sets the glass down. "Keith gave you his shirt." 

"Yes." 

"And you showered this morning?"

"Yep." 

"And you put it back on." 

"Subconsciously, yes."

"You realize how that may seem to the others, right? It's obvious you've cleaned up since last night, your hair is wet. You know what they'll think?" 

Lance nods and rests his chin on the counter. "They'll think Keith and I fucked or something," he states. "But we didn't. I didn't even spend the night with him, I passed out in Pidge's room." After some thought, he continues. "And it wouldn't happen, either. We don't like each other like that." 

Hunk snorts, then winces as his head begins to pound again. "Sure you don't," he says. He gets up to get more purple banana juice. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lance demands. 

"Just that I don't believe you," Hunk says casually. "Come on, Lance. You drunk-flirted with him. He  _responded_ to the drunk flirting. He gave you his shirt, and you're still wearing it after your shower. You've had plenty of time to change out of it, judging by how dry your hair is, and yet you haven't. You've kept it on this whole time, maybe half an hour. You can't tell me that doesn't mean anything." 

When Lance doesn't reply, Hunk turns around. He's not-so-surprised to find Lance holding a fistful of Keith's shirt, staring down at it. His expression is tender, almost loving. Hunk makes a mental note to talk to Pidge later. 

"I could," Lance says quietly. Hunk returns to his seat. "I could deny it." He turns to his friend. "Whatever is said here remains totally confidential?" 

Hunk nods. "Of course." 

"No telling Pidge, or anyone else?"

Hunk crosses an X over his heart. "Promise, dude." 

Lance stares at him a moment longer, then turns his gaze away with a shrug. "I have weird thoughts about Keith sometimes," he admits. "They aren't like when I was going through my sexuality crisis back home. These are more... feelings. Feeling that I have to protect him. Feeling that if he died, I wouldn't be able to handle it. Feeling that he's hiding something from me, and feeling that that hurts." 

The yellow paladin grins and gently pats Lance on the back. "How did it feel last night? When you were, apparently, laying on him?" It's a question that would sound weird to anyone but Lance. 

"It felt... normal." Lance can hear how surprised he sounds. "It felt like it happened all the time, though it hasn't. And this morning..."

"Yeah?"

He shakes his head. "It's stupid, but seeing Keith turn red earlier made me really happy. Especially knowing he was blushing because of me." 

Hunk whistles quietly. "I hate to break it to you, man, but you've got it pretty bad for him." He offers a hug, which Lance accepts. 

"Who has it bad for who?" Lance almost panics, but it's just Pidge. They look normal, aside from the bags under their eyes that steadily grow darker every day. They take in Hunk and Lance's position, and nod. "Oh, you're talking about Keith." 

Hunk and Lance exchange a long look, and Lance finally nods. Hunk doesn't hesitate in saying, "Right on the money, Pidge. Lover Boy here needs an intervention at the rate he's going." 

Lance laughs at the nickname. "You better not call me that in front of the others," he threatens. He snags Hunk's cup and sniffs it before taking a cautious sip. His face wrinkles in distaste. "Ugh, bananas." 

Pidge steals the drink from Lance and returns it to the rightful owner. "Why did you take a drink after smelling it, idiot?" They ask, going to load a plate of goo. 

"It didn't smell like bananas!" Lance defends himself. He mimes gagging. "That was gross." 

The next person to enter the room is Keith, followed closely by Shiro. "You don't like bananas?" Keith asks. He seems personally offended. 

"Lance has hated bananas for years!" Pidge tells Keith. Shiro comes up next to them and grabs his own goo after ruffling their hair. "Hey!" 

Shiro chuckles as he takes a seat. "Sorry, Pidge." He doesn't look very sorry as he begins to eat. 

Lance manages to talk Hunk into getting him some goo as well. Hunk pretends not to notice when Keith steals his chair. "Pidge is right, Lance has never liked bananas. At least, not as long as I've known him." 

"But how can you hate bananas?" Keith asks. "Bananas are great." 

Lance shrugs. "How can Hunk hate pineapple pizza?"

Hunk shudders. "Don't even get me started, man," he says. "Not this early." 

Keith and Pidge laugh. As they all eventually eat breakfast goo, they settle into normal conversations. Pidge and Shiro both notice that Lance is wearing Keith's shirt, but Keith himself seems to be oblivious. And judging by how Lance's hands occasionally bunch up the fabric, he doesn't intend to give it back anytime soon. 

Hunk settles himself beside Pidge. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" he whispers. 

Pidge nods. "The fact that neither of them seem to realize they both like each other? I see it." 

"How long do you think it will take?" 

Pidge stirs their goo around thoughtfully. "I'm willing to bet, after last night, that they only need a little incentive." 

"But what kind of incentive?" 

"I don't know. We probably won't even realize it's come until afterwards." Pidge grins suddenly. "Care to make a wager?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really have no idea what I'm doing with this. I'm essentially just lettung my fingers do the writing while I stare at the screen blankly. Isn't that what writing is, half the time? Anyway, I have several directions this could go, but it's unclear at this point which turns I'll take. Stay tuned for more shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As I'm writing this, I have no clue what the chapter will be about. That's generally my writing style: I wait until I get the urge to write, and then I just let my hands do the work. 
> 
> Basically an excuse for any crap chapters, but they're all crap in my opinion.
> 
> Also, I have another idea for a Klance fic, should I do it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is An Idiot.  
> Keith is #Worried.  
> Pidge is Smol Tired Bean.  
> Hunk is Doctor Friend.  
> Shiro is Done With Your Shit, Lance.

After breakfast, the team heads down to the training deck. Shiro wants to do more bonding exercises, which seems stupid to Lance. Why wouldn't they all be bonded enough already? But everyone else agrees, so he has little choice. 

Coran is up in the deck when they come in, working on something Lance can't see. "Hey, guys!" He calls cheerfully, English accent crisp and to the point. Another thing that seems stupid to Lance is how  _aliens_ can have accents from Earth. How has no one else questioned this?

"Coran, can we run the maze?" Shiro asks. Hunk and Keith both groan. Last time they ran that excercise, Pidge had accidentally run Hunk into three separate walls, and Lance had "accidentally" put Keith flat on his ass. Keith thinks of it as sabotage, but Lance sees it as revenge for the first time.

"You got it, Shiro! Who's up first?" Coran sets aside his project as the team ascends onto the observation deck. He presses several buttons and flips a knob or two. 

Shiro examines the team. "Pidge, why don't you go down? Lance, you'll be the guide." Pidge sighs dramatically, but goes back down into the room and makes their way to the center. "Be careful, Lance." 

"Yeah, yeah, I got this," Lance says confidently. Maybe too confidently. He steps up to the maze display and waits for it to boot up. He can hear Keith and Hunk talking quietly behind him. 

"-said I missed some interesting stuff last night?" That's Hunk. 

"Don't even get me started," Keith gripes. "He tried to strip. I told him to shower and he just rips his shirt off!" 

"I heard about that. But after that, he got kind of vague. I don't think he remembers much."

"Of course not, he was fucking trashed. I practically had to carry him to Pidge's room."

A pause. 

Then, "Why didn't you just bring him to your room? Isn't it closer?" 

Lance is denied an answer by Coran slapping him on the back and saying, "Alright, Blue, the maze is up and running!" 

"Yeah, thanks, Coran," he replies absentmindedly. He studies the map halfheartedly. "Okay, Pidge. Take three steps back and a step to the right. Great, now move forward a few paces. Too many!" 

An irritated Pidge answers. "I think I figured that out, thanks," they snap. They get up from where they were sitting on the floor, rubbing their arm. 

Shiro clucks his tongue. "I said be  _careful,_ Lance," he chastizes gently. 

Lance turns to glare at him briefly before returning to the maze. He notices Keith and Hunk have stopped talking, but then devotes his attention wholly to the maze. 

Pidge makes it out without any further injury. Then Lance steps back as Hunk prepares to guide Keith through. Pidge comes up the stairs and cuffs him on the arm as they pass. "Ow!" He cries. 

"That didn't hurt," Pidge says, remorseless. "Be specific next time." 

The probable argument is cut off as Hunk and Keith begin their round. Hunk guides Keith quite well, and soon he's out of the maze as well. He doesn't have a scratch on him. 

"Excellent, you two," Coran praises. Hunk flushes with prude, and Keith just stretches. "Now, I think Keith will take Lance through next." 

Keith stops mid-stretch, and Lance stares at him in horror. "Are you really going to let him torture me again?!" Lance demands. 

Shiro rolls his eyes. "It's not torture, trust me." Lance falls silent. "The two of you need to learn to work together. You've been doing fine up until recently. Now you're at each other's throats constantly, it seems. You're going down there, Lance." He crosses his arms over his chest. 

Lance huffs. "Fine. But don't blame me when I turn into barbeque!" He storms out of the deck and down to the center of the training area. Then he waits.

Keith and Shiro have a brief, and what looks to be intense, discussion before Keith moves over to the console. "Close your eyes," he says. 

Lance sputters. "What? No way!" 

"Lance," Shiro says. Lance sighs and squeezes his eyes shut. 

"I can't even see the maze, why am I doing this? Pidge and Hunk didn't have to!" He complains.

"Pidge and Hunk trust who they work with already," Coran chimes in. "You trust Keith about as far as you could throw him. Which, honestly, isn't that far at all. Making you go blind will force you to completely trust him." 

Keith snorts at that. "Are you ready, Lance? Or are you too scared?" 

"I'm not scared!" Lance snaps. "Let's just get this over with." 

There's silence as Keith presumably looks over at the map. "Take three steps to the left," he instructs. 

Lance visibly sighs, but sullenly does as told. He has to hastily backtrack when he feels the hairs on his arm stand on end. "Too close," he mutters to himself. 

Keith echoes his thoughts. "That was too close to the wall," he calls. "You're taller than I am, your strides are going to be longer." 

"No shit, Sherlock," Lance retorts. "Just get me out of here." 

"Fine. Take a right and move five steps back." 

With his eyes closed, Lance is forced to rely on his other senses as he moves. Unfortunately, his senses are still mildly impaired, and he doesn't hear the crackle of electricity until it's too late. He goes down hard, whacks his head against the ground with a very audible thump. 

"Lance!" For a split second, Lance thinks Keith sounds concerned. But he dismisses it as wishful thinking. "What the hell was that, dude?" 

He sits up, rubbing the back of his head. "Don't blame me, I'm still hungover." Slowly, he returns to his feet. 

"That was a pretty solid hit, Lance," Shiro says. "Are you okay?" 

Lance waves an arm dismissively. "Yeah. A little nausous, but that's been there all morning." 

He hears three different sighs. "Lance, you need to stop second guessing Keith," Shiro tells him. "His job is to guide you, and your job is to obey him. You can't get out of the maze without his help. If you won't trust him, you need to trust his abilities, at the very least."

"Fine, fine. Where do I go now?" 

Keith takes back over. "Five steps right," he repeats. Lance is slow to follow his orders, but eventually does as told. "Good. You're doing good. Three steps forward, one step left, take a right and walk straight." 

Lance puzzles over the last instruction in his head for a moment before mentally saying fuck it. He follows his instructions, then walks forward until Keith says, "Stop." He comes to a halt instantly, and is certain he can hear surprised murmurs from the observation deck. "Six paces to the left and one step backwards." Lance complies immediately. He's not sure what's changed. Maybe it's the note of pride in Keith's voice as they cooperate successfully. "Just a bit farther. Now, three to the left and go forward." Lance does, feels electricity on his skin as he gets a bit close to a wall. He straightens back out and keeps going. "You can stop now. Excellent, Lance." Keith sounds pleased, and Lance feels his knees go a bit weak. Of course, that could be the injury to his head. 

"Come on up, Lance," Shiro calls. Lance opens his eyes, winces at the light, and makes his way up to the others. 

Almost immediately, Keith is standing by him. "Turn around," he says. Still giddy over their success, Lance turns. "Jesus Christ. Shiro, he's bleeding." Lance hears Pidge make some sort of dramatic groan. Hunk snorts. 

"How bad is it?" Shiro leaves his position by the map to join the boys. "Ouch. Lance, do you feel okay?" 

"I feel fine, Shiro." He does. His nausea is gone now, though his head still hurts. 

"He should be okay. Keith, help him sit down, then make sure the bleeding stops. I'm going to have Pidge take me through." Shiro pats both of them on the shoulder. "Yell in agony if you need me." 

Keith guides Lance to a chair and shoves him down, then wanders off to find a rag of some sort that isn't covered in oil. He comes back to Lance balling his fists into his shirt. Keith is surprised, and maybe a little pleased, to see that it's  _his_. "Here," he says, tossing the cloth to Lance. "Put that against the back of your head." Lance complies as Keith sits down nearby to keep an eye on him. 

"We make a good team." 

Keith starts a bit. "Huh?"

Lance is smiling at him. "We make a good team," he repeats. "When we can get along, at least." 

Keith snorts. "That's the truth," he says. "Maybe we can work on that. The getting along thing." 

"Yeah. Yeah, we should." Lance's smile widens, before he slips lower in his seat. "Not now, though. The maze wore me out." 

Hunk is by Keith's side instantly. "The maze, or your injury?" He asks. Keith looks up at him, confused. Why would that matter?

Lance looks like he's contemplating it. "Both," he says finally. "The maze wore me out, and my head is killing me." He looks proud of himself for some reason.

Hunk swears softly. "Keith, I think it might be more than just some blood. We should put him in a pod, I think he might have a concussion." 

Keith stands up and approaches Lance, who just watches him. "Come on, Lance, we're going to the infirmary." He offers Lance a hand, which turns into an arm when Lance stands and immediately begins to wobble. "Hunk, can you tell Shiro where we are when he comes out?"

"Yeah, you go ahead." Hunk looks behind him. Pidge is watching them with a worried look on their face, but then returns to their current objective. 

Keith nods and guides Lance out of the room. Lance seems to find this funny, for some reason. "You took me through the maze, and now you're taking me down a hall." He chuckles at his infinite wisdom. 

With a sigh, Keith just shakes his head. "Just keep moving, you idiot." 

Apparently, this is harder than it looks, because Lance nearly falls multiple times. The last time he does, Keith just decides to carry him. Again. He scoops up the taller boy and walks down the hall at a faster pace than before. Lance is surprisingly light. 

"Keith? Where are we going?" 

"I'm taking you to a pod."

"Why?"

"You hit your head harder than we thought." 

"An escape pod?"

"No. Now be quiet." 

"Why?" 

"Because I said so." Lance falls mercifully silent. Keith makes a mental note to avoid being near concussed Lance in the future. 

A few minutes later, Keith nudges open the door to the infirmary. He stands Lance on his own feet so he can program a healing pod. 

Lance does not appreciate this. When he sees the pods, his eyes go wide, and he shakes his head rapidly. "No. You're not putting me in one of those. No way." 

Keith huffs and turns to look at him. "Why not?" He asks in exasperation.

"Those things almost killed me!" Keith had forgotten about that. Of course, he'd been busy fighting a gladiator. "I'm not going in there." 

"Lance." 

"It could shoot me into space! Don't you remember Sendak? He got sucked right into space in one of these things!" 

"Lance." 

"And it'll freeze me! What if I don't thaw right? Allura and Coran seem fine, but what do we know? They were frozen for ten thousand years, we didn't know them before!"

"LANCE!" 

Lance pauses in his panicking to stare, wide-eyed, at Keith. "What?" 

"You have a concussion. You need to be in a pod for a few hours. It would take weeks otherwise." 

"But what if-" 

Keith comes over to him and grabs his shoulders. "I understand that you're scared," he says quietly. "But you need to trust me. Can you do that?" 

Lance swallows hard. "Fine." The little smile Keith rewards him with is worth his inner turmoil, he thinks. 

Keith leads him over to the pod he's set up, and pushes him inside. "I'll be right here when you come out. Does that help?" 

Lance tries to nod, nearly falls again. "Yeah," he mutters. The last thing he sees before the pod closes him in is the worried look on Keith's face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have a co-author now! The lovely Lrtvldtrt has agreed to be my editor/co-author, which should be fun. (In all seriousness, my grammar is a train wreck, so this is necessary)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is Lance.  
> Keith is Maybe In Denial, Just A Little.  
> Pidge is Over It (TM).  
> Hunk is Smart and Precious.  
> Shiro is Overly Concerned.

It's _cold. Why is it so cold? Why can't I move? Oh god, where am I? What's going on? Who's- Who's talking? Why is it so hard to hear?_

"Allura said it shouldn't be much longer. I'm not surprised he's been in so long, that was a nasty head injury he had." 

_How long have I been out?_

"He's going to be okay though, right?" 

_Keith? Why do you sound so upset?_

"I'm sure he'll be just fine, Keith. Come on, you need to get some sleep. Some food wouldn't hurt, either." 

_No, don't leave me. Don't leave me here._

"I can't, Shiro. I promised him I'd be here when he woke up. I don't break my promises." 

_Yes. Stay. Stay with me._

A muffled sigh. "Alright. But don't stay up too long. I can't have two paladins down on the job, understand? We still have to go down and check on that signal." 

"Yeah, Shiro. I'll lay down once he's awake." 

"Good. I'll check on you in a bit." 

"Bye, Shiro." 

_He's not leaving. Good. Stay with me, Keith..._

 

Lance comes fully awake as the pod opens. He's freezing, shivering violently. He's also exhausted. He stumbles from the pod in a daze, and almost runs into Keith. 

"Lance!" Keith catches him as he begins to topple sideways. He eases the boy to the ground and goes to find a blanket. While he's gone, Lance recalls what he heard in the pod, along with his own thoughts. He wants to groan at himself, for how cheesy he is, but his teeth are chattering too hard to make any noise. 

Keith comes back soon enough, and drapes a blanket around him. "Here." He sits next to Lance, watching him. Lance grips the blanket as tightly as he can and wraps it around himself like a fish net. "How do you feel?" 

"C-C-Cold," Lance chatters. He hears Keith snort. 

"The pods do that, I've heard." 

Lance rolls his eyes, hugging the blanket closer. It's not really doing much, if he's honest. He kind of wants to move closer to Keith, who he knows is like a walking furnace. Maybe it's the Galra blood? He shakes his head; he's getting sidetracked. 

"-I mean, if you want-" Lance cocks his head in Keith's direction. Keith looks visibly flustered for some reason. How strange. What was he saying? "Pidge says I have enough body heat for three people." It looks like he was following Lance's train of thought. Was that an invitation? Lance, cold and tired, decides to treat it as such. He shifts closer to his friend and leans his head on the other boy's shoulder. A little bit bony, but that's hardly surprising, considering how little Keith seems to eat. "Oh. Okay." 

Keith wraps an arm tentatively around Lance's back. They both have to shift a few times to get comfortable, and eventually it's basically turned into a cuddle session: Lance is squished against Keith's side with his head on his shoulder; Keith is essentially hugging him, head on top of Lance's. 

Lance has the brief thought of 'what would the others think?' but he can't bring himself to care. Now that he's beginning to warm up, he's growing more tired. Maybe Coran has some sort of energy shot he can take to stay awake. He'll have to ask next time he sees him. For now, he allows his eyes to fall shut. He drifts into a half-asleep state of being. It's nice. Being alone with Keith like this, without arguing or trying to one-up each other, is peaceful. 

The peace doesn't last long. "Keith, have you seen-" Footsteps come to a halt. Presumably, whoever is in the room has seen the way they're sitting. "Oh my god." Of course it's Pidge. Lance is suddenly wide awake, but has the sense to keep his eyes closed and his breathing even. 

"No," Keith warns. "This is not what it looks like." Lance is worried he'll let go for a moment, but that doesn't happen. "He was cold." 

Pidge makes a noise akin to a bird whistling. "But what about now?" They sound like they're fighting laughter. 

Keith shrugs, making Lance's head bob. "I think he's asleep." 

Now Pidge does squeal a bit. "Oh my god," they repeat. "Hunk owes me 10 GAK."

"Quit betting on my life!" Keith snaps. Lance has to fight to keep a straight face. Apparently this is a regular occurrence.

"Why? I keep winning! I totally called the whole 'half-alien' thing! Let me bet on your love life, come on!"

Keith chokes. "What?" He demands. "What love life? I don't have one. And I wouldn't want a 14-year old betting on it if I did." His arms reflexively tighten around Lance. Lance wonders if he realizes. 

"You should, though."

"Should what?"

"Have a love life."

Keith's shoulders begin to shake as he laughs. Lance likes the sound. "Sure, Pidge. I'm not exactly into 'space babes,' in case you'd forgotten." 

Lance can almost  _hear_ Pidge roll their eyes. "I know, you big gay basket case. I meant space  _dudes._ Lance is always flirting on the job; why can't you have a little fun, too?"

Lance has to struggle to keep his breathing even. He knew Keith was gay. It would be kind of hard not to, when he's never even looked at any of the girls who have tried to flirt with him. That's not what he's got an issue with. Even the idea of Keith flirting with someone makes him angry. The idea of Keith going off with some strange guy for 'a little fun' makes him want to hit something. Stupid feelings. Stupid Keith with his stupid, greasy mullet hair that somehow looks soft and his stupid smile that gives Lance butterflies and his stupid violet eyes that go all soft when he talks about something that interests him and his stupid, perfect- 

Lance cuts off that train of thought abruptly. He does not like where that was headed, or what might have happened if it had. The last thing he needs is to have to explain why a certain friend came to say hello.

"I can't, Pidge," Keith says. "Someone has to keep this asshole out of trouble. Besides, Shiro barely tolerates Lance's flirting. I'm pretty sure both of us would give him an aneurysm."

Pidge sighs. "You are the biggest idiot on this ship," they say. "Literally the biggest. I'm astounded the Castle hasn't exploded from how dense you are."

Keith huffs and shifts a little. "What about him?" He asks.

They snort, and their voice gets closer. "He knows what he wants," they state. Lance can't help but tense up.  _Pidge, don't you fucking dare._  

Keith doesn't have a chance to ask what, exactly, Lance wants, because then someone else comes in. "Good, Lance is out of the pod. Is he awake?" Lance recognizes Allura's voice. _God bless the princess,_ he thinks to himself.

"No," Keith says. "I can wake him up, if you need him for something." 

"That won't be necessary. Shiro expressed concern that he was still healing, so I came to look in on him. Make sure he eats when he awakens. Being in the healing pod is very draining on the body. Oh, and we'll be debriefing in one half of your human 'hours.'"

"Sure thing," Pidge says. Allura's quick footsteps retreat, and Lance decides he should probably move, if there's a time limit now. He shifts, and then sits up a little. "Oh. Morning, sleepy head." 

He shoots them a halfhearted glare, which they probably interpret as sleepy. "Was that Allura?" He asks.

Next to him, Keith stands. "Yeah. She ordered Pidge and I to make sure you eat something. Come on." 

Lance tries to rise, but lands heavily as his legs give out. He's weaker than he thought. "Geez," he complains loudly, "how long was I even in there?" 

Pidge checks some sort of watch-looking device on their wrist. "Maybe 4 or 5 hours? We weren't expecting you to be under more than an hour, so it's no wonder Shiro was worried." 

Keith offers Lance a hand, and he slowly gets to his feet. His legs hold, barely, and he takes a few cautious steps. "I'll be better in no time," he announces. "Then I can get back to business." 

Pidge stares at him. "And I assume that business is space babes?" They ask flatly. 

Lance laughs. "Part of it," he says. When Pidge gives him a knowing look, he continues hastily. "The whole 'defenders of the universe' thing is, too. Space superheroes can never rest, Pidge." 

Pidge and Keith snort in unison, and Keith releases Lance's hand to go mutter quietly to Pidge. Lance wobbles momentarily, but catches his balance before either of them notice. Pidge snorts a second time, presumably at whatever Keith said, then sends Lance a sarcastic wave and leaves, presumably to go do whatever they do before debriefing. He's still questioning that as Keith takes the blanket from him and puts it up. How can a wave be sarcastic? Well, Pidge has made it work. 

"Lance." Lance starts and looks over. Keith is watching expectantly, looking mildly annoyed. "Are you coming or not?" 

Lance rolls his eyes and begins to slowly walk over to the door. Keith walks next to him, and they enter the hallway side by side. "Where is everyone?" Lance asks. "I expected a giant party, with balloons and everything." 

Now it's Keith's turn to roll his eyes. "Where would we even get balloons, Lance? We're in  _space._ " 

"From the space party store, obviously," Lance retorts. 

Keith groans. "Well, we can celebrate your not being any more brain-dead later, we've got stuff to do right now." 

Lance looks over at him. "Like what?"

"After we get you fed, Shiro wants to go check out this distress signal we got while you were out. It seems like it's coming from a peaceful planet, but we aren't sure what the problem is." 

"Oh. So, we're gonna go check it out."

"No."

"But you just said-"

"I said Shiro wants to check it out. You and Hunk are staying here."

Lance stopped and stared at Keith. "What? Why?" 

"Hunk volunteered to stay back and keep you company."

"Okay, but why am I being left behind?"

" _You_  just came out a pod, dumbass. You're in no condition to fly when we won't even need you." 

Lance flinches a bit at that. He doesn't need to be reminded of his status as 7th wheel. Keith doesn't seem to notice. 

"We won't be gone that long anyway, a few hours at most." Keith opens a door, and Lance is startled to realize that they've already reached the kitchen.

Hunk is sitting at the counter. He looks up as they come in. "Hey, Lance! You're up!" He grins, and Lance can't help but smile back. Hunk's attitude is infectious. 

"Of course. I can't keep the ladies waiting, can I?" Lance winks comically. Keith groans again as he goes over to the goo station. "So, you're stuck here with me, huh?" 

Hunk shares a look with Keith, then says, "Actually, I chose to stay back. I've been kind of nauseous this morning, and I really don't want to have to clean Yellow again." 

Lance laughs as he takes a seat. It's a relief to be off his feet and not worried about falling. "Maybe you can help me get to command. I'm pretty weak." 

Keith sets a bowl of goo in front of him and stares at him until he starts to eat. "Why do you want to go to command?" He asks.

"If I can't take Blue for a spin, I at least want to take my drone out. Air support, you know?" Hunk nods, like that's a good idea. Lance gestures down at his food. "Why are  _you_ so set on making sure I eat?" 

Keith glares at him briefly, and Lance notes with some surprise that he's turned a very faint shade of pink. "Because we can't have anyone out of commission longer than necessary, dumb ass. Not having a leg could cost us an arm and a leg." 

Hunk and Lance stare at him before Hunk starts laughing. "That was clever, Keith!" He crows. Lance snorts into his goo.

"Whatever," Keith says dismissively. "I need to go catch the debrief, I'll see you guys later." He gives a halfhearted salute, then leaves the room at a jog. 

Hunk is still happy about Keith's attempt at a joke. "Whoo, that was funny," he says. He slowly settles down, then begins to speak again. "So, has Keith told you what's up?" 

Lance shakes his head. "Not really. Just that we caught some sort of signal, and they're going down to investigate." 

"There's really not much more to say. Shiro is worried it could be a trick, which is why he's taking backup." Hunk shifts around in his seat, looking distinctly uncomfortable. 

Lance notices, and stops eating for a moment. "What's up, buddy?" He asks. 

Hunk sighs. "Well, I was talking to Coran, and this planet was supposedly already captured by the Galra when he and Allura were put into cryosleep, because of how close it was to the center of the empire at the time. But Allura says the transmissions from the surface are friendly. I can't figure out why the Galra would allow the planet to go free, rather than destroy it. The only thing I can think of-"

"-is that the Galra are forcing the natives to send the signal to lure us into a trap?" Lance finishes. 

"I don't know why we doubt your intelligence sometimes," Hunk says. "That's exactly what I was thinking." 

Lance polishes off his food, then pushes his bowl away. "Come on, I want to go to command. Have you told Allura about this yet?" 

Hunk shakes his head. "I was going to during the debriefing, but then you came out of the pod, and I haven't had the chance." 

Lance pushes to his feet. He feels a lot better now. "Then let's go, maybe we can still catch them." He leaves the kitchen, wobbling a bit as he goes. He hears Hunk come out after him. 

"I'm definitely worried," Hunk says. "It's not like that hasn't happened before, I don't know why we aren't taking more precautions." 

"Dude, you're starting to sound like Shiro," Lance comments. Hunk goes silent. "Everything will be fine. We're nowhere near Zarkon's main fleet anymore, right? He's moved his fleet further away now, so it's probably just a guard ship, if anything." 

They continue to walk in silence, Lance occasionally having to pause and catch his breath. Hunk makes no effort to talk, which suits Lance just fine. 

When they finally arrive in the command room, Lance is surprised to find the other paladins still there. Allura is showing them something on the star chart, gesturing with her hands. "-of course, every action must be weighted carefully." She catches sight of them and nods, not interrupting her speech. "I understand that you're worried, but they could be in dire need of assistance." 

Lance and Hunk take their seats, settling in for the last part of the debriefing. It seems to mainly be Pidge and Shiro against Allura. "Are you sure it's safe?" Pidge asks. "I'm not about to risk my tail for some Galra-headed aliens, defender of the universe or not." 

"Is anything you do ever safe, Pidge?" Allura retorts. Amazingly, Pidge falls quiet. "I'm well aware that this could be dangerous, but I know you all can handle it, because you are Voltron. It is because you are Voltron that I ask you to do this. It is your job now,  _our_ job, to help all planets in distress. If we don't aid every planet who calls for help, how are we any better than those Blades of Marmora people, or anyone else who has defied Zarkon?" Lance notices Keith tense up at that, but Allura continues. "You are the defenders of the universe now, and therefore must act as such." She looks at each of them in turn. Nobody speaks for a long time. "Is there anything I have failed to address?"

Hunk rises from his seat. "I have some concern." He looks to Lance, who nods encouragingly. "I talked to Coran while everyone was getting ready. He told me that this planet was recorded as captured 10,000 years ago. I can't understand why Zarkon wouldn't destroy the planet when he was done with it. I'm worried it could be a trap." He waits a moment, then sits again.

Allura appears to be mulling his words over. "I understand your concern," she says finally. "However, I must ask that you still investigate. If this planet has managed to free itself from Zarkon, the natives could have information vitally important to us. Hunk, if you could come over here for a moment, I would like to discuss defense plans for the Castle." 

After that, the meeting dissolves into Shiro, Pidge, and Keith talking quietly in one corner of the room, Hunk and Allura making plans in the front, and Lance sitting in his chair. With his plan from earlier in mind, he activates his drone and guides it out into open space to get a good view of the planet. 

It looks like Earth. 

There are too many land masses, and too much surface water, but for a moment it looks so similar to home that Lance's breath hitches. He flies his drone closer, staring at the screen. The land is far too green, and the water is too pale, and yet he's suddenly hit with a longing so fierce it's all he can do not to cave in on himself. He doesn't realize he's tearing up until a hand comes to rest gently on his shoulder. "Lance?"

He looks up, wonders why his vision is blurred. Blinking hard, feeling something slide down his face, he recognizes Shiro, watching him with a concerned frown. "Is everything okay?" He asks carefully. 

Lance swipes a hand over his face, aware that he's being watched by the others. "I-I'm fine," he manages. "Perfectly, totally okay." He stands suddenly, knocking Shiro back a step in his haste to get away from the screen. He mutters an apology as he hurries to the door, impatiently waiting for it to slide open. "I'm fine," he repeats, feeling four pairs of eyes bore into his back. 

Once the door closes behind him, he breaks into a run, letting his feet carry him to the one place the others won't bother him as memories crowd his head. He moves through the halls in a daze, imagining grass and sand instead of the harsh tap of metal beneath his feet. Imagining the smell of the ocean he misses so much, instead of disinfectant and filtered air.

He comes to a halt in front of the door, panting lightly as he keys it open. He can feel a faint purr in the back of his mind, grins despite the tears making tracks down his cheeks. He steps inside. "Hey, girl," he says. 

Blue rumbles gently as he steps forward and scrambles onto one of her front paws. He lays himself flat as she lets him feel her concern. 

"It was just a bump, princess," he reassures her. "That's not why I'm here, and you know it." She tilts her head like a curious puppy, and he chokes out a laugh. 

"Yeah. I miss home again." 

 

Keith watches Lance flee, wiping away tears as he practically sprints from the room. Beside him, Pidge is still talking about the mission, apparently not caring that Shiro is no longer with them, but pulling Allura away from Hunk to murmur quietly, presumably about Lance. 

After brief hesitation, Hunk decides to join Keith and Pidge. "Do you think he's really okay?" He asks. 

Keith shrugs. "How should I know? He's Lance, I don't keep tabs on him," he responds.

Pidge breaks off mid-sentence to snort. "That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard," they say. 

The boy stares at them. Keith can feel hot irritation begin to rise in his gut. "What is that supposed to mean?" He demands. He's starting to get fed up with Pidge's cryptic insinuations. 

"Just that there's no way in hell you don't pay attention to what Lance is doing at all times," they reply, their arms crossed over their chest.

Hunk holds up his hands. "Guys, I'm not really sure this is the time to-" 

"No, let them finish," Keith interrupts. "Is there something you're trying to tell me, Pidge?" His voice is louder than he intended it to be, and he can hear Allura pause in whatever she was saying. 

Pidge rolls their eyes. "Only that you suck at hiding your gay boner for Lance," they state.

Keith can feel his face turning red. "I do not have a boner for Lance!" 

Pidge grins smugly at him. "Then why are you turning red?" They tease. "Is the thought of sucking his dick _that_ embarrassing to you, or do you just not want to admit that you've thought about it?" 

"Goddammit, Pidge, I don't want to suck his fucking dick!" 

Hunk claps a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter as Shiro calls for Keith to watch his language, there's minors in the room. 

The whole time, Pidge is laughing. Keith resists the urge to punch them, instead clenching his hands into tight fists. "I'm going to the training deck," he snaps. "Hunk, come get me when it's time to go?" 

Hunk nods, still chuckling under his breath. "Sure thing, buddy."

Keith turns on his heel and heads for the door, stopping to apologize to Shiro on the way out. Shiro and Allura both assure him it's fine, just be more careful in the future. Shiro asks if he's gotten enough sleep lately. Keith says he has, then takes his leave. 

He stops in his room to grab his knife, then makes his way to the training room. He calls for the room to start a level 2 sequence as he takes a starting stance. When the first wave of sparring bots comes at him, he's more than ready, itching to fight. He takes the first wave in stride, using it as more of a warm up than actual training. Even so, he's sweating by the time the bots stop coming. He signals for a break and gets some water, all the while trying to drive Pidge's words out of his head. 

Of course he'd be embarrassed at the thought of sucking someone's dick! It has nothing to do with his being gay, everyone probably figured that out a long time ago. That's just not the sort of thing he thinks about regularly. Keith grumbles to himself, thinking that they had no right to go there, and why would they even think to in the first place? 

The next wave is, predictably, a little harder. Not only because the difficulty has increased, but because now he's having trouble concentrating. He manages to beat the drones, but not without taking some hits. He sinks to the floor as he drinks more water, pulls his shirt off in an attempt to cool down. 

"Why would they go there?" He asks the room. Of course, the room doesn't answer. "I've never thought about sucking anyone's dick before, let alone  _his._ "

The sequence gives him ten minutes to recuperate, then sends in the third round. He pours all of his strength and anger into fighting, into slashing and kicking and dodging hits. He tries to force the issue from his mind, but he fails.

This time, he loses. 

As he recovers, panting and covered in sweat, he wonders at himself. He's never lost so quickly before. Maybe Shiro is right, maybe he needs more sleep. 

Or maybe you need to quit getting distracted by Lance, says a niggling voice in the back of his head. 

Shut up, he tells it.

He knows it's not logical, because Lance isn't even here. 

And yet-

And yet he can't bring himself to deny that he  _was_ distracted. Nor can he tell himself it wasn't because he was thinking about the blue paladin. 

He tries. Boy, does he try. He tries to convince himself that he wasn't thinking about Lance, that he wasn't wondering what Lance might sound like in that sort of situation, whether he would try to keep his cool or turn into putty in the right person's hands, what his moans might sound like, his whimpers and gasps. 

He tries to tell himself he wasn't thinking about any of that. Unfortunately, his brain and the sudden tightness in his pants force him to face reality.

"Goddammit," he groans, letting his head fall back against the floor. "This is not happening. I'm just hormonal, that's all. Yeah, that's it." 

He pushes himself up from the floor and picks up his shirt, slinging it over his shoulder as he walks to the control panel to program the room to clean the floor. He's debating whether he has enough time for a shower when the door opens. He lifts a hand in greeting, expecting Hunk, but pauses when he hears a choked sort of whimper that sounds nothing like the big goofball.

Confused, he turns, then bites back the first thing the comes to his lips, which is " _What the hell are you doing here?"_

It's Lance. He's staring at Keith with comically wide eyes. Keith watches as the other boy's eyes appear to move over his torso, and maybe even a little lower, then come to rest just slightly below his own gaze. Keith has the briefest thought of  _Did he just look at my crotch?_ This is followed by  _Dear god, tell me he didn't notice._

Keith is about to make some sarcastic remark, possibly to break the sudden, extremely awkward tension, when Lance fucking  _bites his lip._ He looks like he's trying really hard not to say anything, and suddenly, Keith feels self-conscious. 

"Lance," he says. Lance's eyes snap up to his, before he averts them. Keith fights back a twinge of hurt. Is he that bad to look at? "What do you want?"

He speaks a bit harsher than intended, but it has the desired effect. Lance meets his gaze again for hald a second, and Keith is startled to see that Lance is very rapidly turning red. Why would he be blushing?

"Uh, Hunk asked me to come get you. He said it's time to suit up," Lance mutters. "So, yeah, I'm just going to- I really should- bye!" Keith watches in amazement as Lance turns, runs into the doorframe, then disappears around the corner. 

Keith blinks hard. "What the hell just happened?" 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is probably out later than I intended (halfway through June 2017 as I type this) and I'm really sorry, my life had a massive upheaval in the past 2 weeks. Naturally, I've gotten a little derailed, but I swear I'm trying! Don't be too angry with me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me accidentally hitting the publish button forced me to publish early bc I couldn't figure out how to undo it. 
> 
> One of my readers has brought it to my attention that one of the lines of dialogue in this chapter comes across as transphobic. I deeply apologize, it had not occured to me that the dialogue seemed that way. Luckily I've been called out on it and will immediately change it. I'm so sorry if you were offended by it. Hopefully what I'll be changing it to is not as bad, feel free to call me out if you think you need to.

The next few hours, to Lance at least, seem to pass far too quickly. After that embarrassing scene in the training room, he studiously avoids command, and anywhere else he might run into Keith. This means that he ends up wandering the halls for an hour or two as the other finish their last minute preparations. Shiro stops him once as he goes by his room to ask how he's doing. He reassures the elder man that he's okay, really, just a little homesick. 

More than once, he bumps into Pidge. They can't even look at him without laughing, for some reason. He tries to ask them about it, but they just mutter something about Keith and start laughing again. He ignores them after that. 

When they finally depart for the mission, he goes looking for Hunk. He assumes he'll be with Allura, but she tells him Hunk went to his hangar. He turns that way, and soon comes to Yellow's hangar door. He stands there for quite a while, hesitating to go in. He doesn't think he's ever seen any of the paladins go into a hangar that's not their own. It feels almost invasive, like he shouldn't be here. 

Eventually, the decision is made for him when the door slides open to reveal Hunk on the other side. He's got grease spatters on his clothes, revealing what he was up to. "Oh, hey Lance," he greets. "What brings you over here?" 

Lance scratches the back of his neck. "I wanted to talk," he starts. "You're my best bud, so I figured you'd be the most likely to listen to my rambling." 

Hunk laughs. "Yeah, sure," he says. "You wanna talk here, or go somewhere else?" 

"I'd rather go somewhere else, if you don't mind." Hunk follows him as he begins to walk off. "The thought of going in there gave me the heebie-jeebies."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It took ages for me to not feel freaked when I was in Green's hangar, working with Pidge." 

Lance glances to the side. "So, it goes away?" He asks. 

Hunk's brow furrows. "I wouldn't say that," he says. "More like you just get used to it. I've experimented with it a few times, just to see what would happen." 

"You've gone into my hangar?" A feeling rises in Lance's chest, rearing its ugly head like a snake. He's inexplicably jealous at the thought of Hunk being around Blue without him there.

Hunk laughs. "Of course not," he assures. The jealousy begins to ease. Hunk pretends he doesn't notice Lance's sigh of relief. "I just stood outside the door. I did it with the others, too, Black and Red. From what I've observed, each of the feelings I get is different depending on the Lion. It all feels like I'm overstepping into something intensely private, but there are other emotions. Red radiates anger. Black sends off literal waves of fear, I was quaking in my boots. Green has a lot of regret." 

Lance is almost afraid to ask. "What about Blue?" 

"Blue made me feel... really lonely." Hunk turns to look at him. "Lonely and homesick." 

Lance coughs, turns his attention back to where they're going. He recognizes the hallways where they all sleep. When Hunk stops and a door slides open, he steps in without thinking twice. 

Hunk's room, unlike Pidge's, is organized. Not as clean as Shiro's, but there are places to sit down. Lance takes one of the stange concrete-looking cubes, while Hunk sits on his bed. "So, what did you want to talk about?" 

Lance lets out a long, overdramatic sigh. "Keith," he says. "What else?" 

Just like with Pidge, Hunk immediately barks out a laugh. Unlike Pidge, he struggles to compose himself. "Sorry, sorry," he gasps. "What about him has you so obviously irritated?" 

This is why he loves Hunk. Hunk will let him rant about things, and not tell another soul. And he'd do the same for Hunk, if he ever asked. They've always been like this, ever since they first met. Lance just knows that if platonic soulmates existed, Hunk would 100% be his.  

"You sent me to go get him, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I went to go get him. He was right where you said he'd be."

"What's the problem, then?" 

"He wasn't wearing a shirt! His goddamn shirt was off, it was hanging over his shoulder! No man should have to right to be that toned while being so skinny!" Lance flops backward dramatically, bouncing off of the wall a bit. "Seriously, what the hell? He's skinnier  _and_ has more muscle than me? I can't let that slide!" 

Hunk is watching him with a knowing look that has Lance scowling at him. "You wouldn't get this worked up about seeing Keith without a shirt on. Did something else happen?" 

Lance looks around, though there's no one else around. "Nothing we say leaves this room?" 

"Never. I thought you had more faith in me than that." Hunk puts a hand to his chest in mock-hurt.

"I'm just making sure! But h-he fucking- I swear to god he had a fucking boner!" Lance covers his face with his hands and groans. 

Hunk chokes a bit. He can scarcely believe what he just heard. "He what?"

"I know! But he did, he had a goddamned hard-on and he was shirtless and sweaty and in all honesty it was kinda hot and-" Lance clamps a hand over his mouth in horror. "Please tell me I did not just say that."

Poor Hunk is mildly traumatized, but true to his nature, he tries to help Lance work through this. "I'm not in the habit of lying," he says apologetically. "Why is it such a big deal? I thought you'd already established that you had a massive gay crush on him?" 

"Those were your words, not mine." Lance seems to deflate a bit. "And I have. But I sound like a teenage schoolgirl from some crap anime. Next thing I know, I'll be calling him 'senpai' or something." 

Hunk gets up from the bed to pat Lance on the shoulder. "You are so gay for him," he says sympathetically. 

"Yeah," Lance agrees. "I guess I really am." He laughs a little and shakes his head. "I'm so fucked."

 

 _I'm so fucked_ , Keith thinks. He watches Pidge search through some bushes to his left, calling his name. He can hear Shiro off in the distance. 

He readjusts his position carefully, trying not to disturb any of the foliage around him. It occurs to him that Pidge could easily find him if they looked up, but he shoves the thought away. Now is not the time for this.

Why did he have to run? Why couldn't he have just stood there and pretended to be okay with letting some bizarre green alien girl kiss him? Or he could have easily said " _Sorry, I'm not interested,"_ or  _"Sorry, I'm not into girls."_ Running may have been a bit much, even for him, the gayest fucker who ever lived. 

He swallows down a sigh as he hears the intercom on his helmet crackle. He'd taken it off to get some fresh air, so had the others, and then that girl had come bounding over and tried to plant one on him. 

He shakes his head and stuffs his helmet back on. "-hear me? Keith?" It's Shiro. He looks down. Pidge is gone.

"I'm here," he says quietly. 

Shiro breathes out heavily, not quite a sigh. "Where are you? You worried Pidge and I half to death." 

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have run off like that, I just-" 

"Keith." Shiro interrupts him firmly, but gently. "Where are you?"

Keith chuckles half-heartedly. "I'm, uh, actually in a tree, if you'd believe it. Pidge was right below me a few minutes ago." 

Now Shiro sighs. "Get down, and then wait there. Pidge and I will be along in a few." 

Keith clambers out of the tree, much easier than he might have expected. He keeps his helmet on this time, despite the heat quickly making him begin to sweat. He kicks a few rocks absently, scaring a few bird-like creature from a nearby tree. 

He takes the time to ponder how he'll make up for this one. Running off because a girl tried to flirt with him? That's probably the worst thing he could have done, right next to toting a sign around that reads  _I'm gay and unused to physical affection_. He wouldn't be surprised if Pidge had recorded it somehow. It will probably haunt him for weeks.

He's wondering how he might apologize when someone yells, "Keith!" Something short barrels into him, and he barely has time to register that it's Pidge before they punch him in the gut. His breath wheezes out of him. A child should not be that strong. "You scared the crap out of us!" 

Shiro is standing several feet back, watching with mild amusement. He meets Keith's eyes, and there's a knowing look on his face. Keith hates it. "We took care of the situation," Shiro says. "They were very accepting after we explained that you aren't attracted to females." Which is hardly surprising, considering that every native on this planet is female. 

"Yeah," Pidge says. They're grinning. "They understood homosexuality without a problem." 

For the second time today, Keith resists the urge to punch them. He turns to Shiro. "Sorry about running off." 

"It's alright, Keith. Just, maybe use words next time." Shiro puts his helmet on, waiting until Pidge follows suit to speak again. "Come on, let's get back to the Lions." 

Keith watches Shiro and Pidge begin to trek back to the village, lagging behind a bit. They seem to be talking about him; every so often, one of them will turn back to look at him. 

Once they return to the village, it's clear to Keith that the natives don't harbor any ill feelings toward him. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the girl who tried to kiss him comes running up with a smile on her face. They stare at each other for a moment, and Keith thinks it's a shame, really, that he doesn't like girls; this one would definitely be his type if he did, green skin aside. She's tall, though still shorter than him, and willowy, with dark red eyes and pointed ears. Keith has the thought that Lance would be all over this girl, and is surprised at how bitter he feels about it.

"My elders tell me to apologize for what I did," she says. Her voice is higher than he would have assumed. "I did not mean to force upon you affections you did not desire, Red Paladin of Voltron." 

The girl's speech habits almost make him laugh, but he reminds himself that this is a diplomatic mission. "No harm was done," he tells her. Her ears flutter, and he can't help a small smile. "It was my own fault, I should have said something." 

"Oh, no! It is not anyone's fault," the girl insists. "Merely an unfortunate series of circumstances no creature might have though to take caution of." She holds something up to him, practically shoving it against his chest. "The Green Paladin of Voltron has informed me that you are much like us, in that you only seek a mate like yourself." 

Keith feels his face flame. He cuts a glare in Pidge's direction. They stop pestering the chief about the village's tecnological advances long enough to wiggle their fingers at him. "How... kind of them," he grinds out. 

The alien girl is still holding the object to his chest, and with a sigh he takes it. It's wrapped in what looks like dark blue leaves. "I beg that you give this to the mate you seek, the Blue Paladin of Voltron." When he turns somehow redder, she hastens to reassure him. "It contains nothing purposefully lewd! Only the objects we use when courting our mates, trinkets that the Green Paladin of Voltron has told me the Blue Paladin of Voltron will appreciate." 

Before Keith can refuse the gift, Shiro is calling to him, telling him it's time to go. The girl makes a noise akin to an owl hooting and throws her arms around him in a hug. "Oh, I beg you to swear you will give it to your mate!"

"I, uh, s-sure," Keith says, a little overwhelmed. He can't recall the last time a girl, or anyone, hugged him. "I'll give it to him." 

It's not until he's boarding Red, and the girl is waving almost violently to them, that he realizes he basically called Lance his 'mate.' 

 

When they return to the Castle, Keith immediately pleads exhaustion and makes a beeline for his room. He sets the package carefully next to the bed, then flops down to stare at the ceiling. In the next room, he can hear Pidge recording what happened. It puzzles him that they deem it necessary to keep a video log out here, but to each their own, he supposes. 

Through the other wall, he can hear Shiro and Hunk. He knows that he's sandwiched between Pidge and Hunk, so it's not much of a surprise to hear Hunk. He's mildly confused to hear Shiro, though; it's not until he hears Lance whining that he realizes that Shiro must have promised to tell the two how the mission went. He grits his teeth as he listens to Lance complain. 

"Are you serious? A whole planet full of hot alien girls, and I wasn't down there? You have to be kidding!"

Hunk speaks up, unknowingly saving Keith's wall from having something thrown at it. "But, Shiro, why did they have a signal going if everything was fine?" 

"From what they told us, it seems like the signal's been going for a very long time. The natives are smart enough to have figured out how to use solar power, and their ancestors built the signal on solar panels, to keep it going. The village chief told me that she had forgotten the beacon even existed." 

"How did they escape from Zarkon, then? If they had a beacon, wouldn't he have known there was intelligent life?" 

Keith turns himself around so that he can hear Shiro's answer more clearly. "Believe it or not, they hid underground. They had special tunnels that hid their heat signatures, so deep under the surface that it would have taken too long to find them. Allura and I believe Zarkon assumed the planet was unihabited, and the beacon was some relic from a dead civilization. There was nothing on the surface Zarkon could have used, so he simply left it. There were several accounts of Galra scout ships coming back every decade or so to see if anyone had settled there, but the natives appear to have the tech to be able to know when they're coming. They have plenty of time to hide." 

To Keith's surprise, it's Lance who asks the next smart question. "And when are they supposed to show up again?"

"I had Pidge look at their tech, and they estimated that the next scout ship would arrive in-"

"Eavesdropping is rude, you know." 

Keith yelps and shoots to his feet, an old habit from the Garrison. Pidge is standing in his doorway, smirking. They come in all the way and sit on the bed without waiting for an invitation. "If you want to know what Shiro and I found, you could just go ask." 

He sits back down slowly. "And risk running into Lance after that awkward situation in the training room? Not to mention what happened with that girl? No thanks."

He regrets his words the moment they leave his mouth. Pidge's jaw drops a little, and then they crowd into his personal space. "What happened in the training room?" They demand. 

"None of your business!" Keith snaps. Their face falls, and he mentally kicks himself. "Nothing much. Just..." 

"Yeah?" 

"He walked in on me," he states simply. 

Pidge blows air from their nose. "That's it?" 

"Well, there may have been a certain friend saying hello." It's the most delicate way he can think to put it. 

There's silence, and then Pidge begins to cackle. "You're kidding! He walked in on you training. And he had a boner?" 

Keith almost doesn't want to correct them, but Lance would certainly tell the truth if confronted. "First off, I wasn't training anymore. Second, he wasn't the one with the friend." 

Pidge nearly chokes. "Wait, what?" They turn to stare at him. " _You_ had the boner?" 

"If you tell anyone, I'll kill you." 

Pidge is too busy thinking to pay much attention to the threat. "You had a hard-on when Lance came in. Hunk sent him to get you from the training room, after you got angry because I insinuated that you wanted to suck Lance's- Oh my god." 

Keith knows what Pidge is going to say before they say it. He really hates how smart they are, sometimes. 

"You had a boner because you were thinking about sucking Lance's dick!" He has to clap a hand over their mouth to keep them from yelling any louder. They pry his hand away, but lower their volume considerably. "That's so great! Really gross, but great!" 

"How the hell is this a good thing?" Keith demands. 

Pidge smacks him on the head. "Because Lance is naturally curious, remember? He's bound to ask about it!" 

The mere idea of Lance striking up a conversation like that makes Keith cringe. "I hope he doesn't," he mutters. 

Pidge shoots him a smug look. "He will." They look a little green. 

"Whatever, I'll deal with that when I have to," Keith says. He points a finger at them threateningly. "And you better not tell him to find me!" 

Pidge laughs. "I make no promises," they say. 

Keith groans and swats at them. "Whatever! You made me miss what he was saying!"

"You sound like a little girl," Pidge deadpans. "The next ship is supposed to arrive within the next few days. If you hadn't run off, you would have seen them preparing to move underground." 

Pidge goes on to explain how the natives dismantle their huts to hide them, but Keith is only half listening. He's marvelling instead at how easily Pidge seems to have accepted the change of subject. 

"- it's really interesting, I wish we could stay to watch. But anyway, have you given Lance the gift yet?" 

Or maybe not. 

Keith curses silently. "No," he says shortly. 

Pidge places their hands on the bed in front of them and leans forward. "Why not?" they demand. 

"Do you realize how weird it is to give someone a gift when you're not in a relationship?" Keith asks. "I'm not giving it to him, it can rot for all I care." 

He turns to glare at them head-on. "And why the hell did you tell that girl that Lance was my- that we were-"

Pidge smiles innocently. "That he was what?" 

Keith waves his hand angrily. "That he was my mate!" he yells. 

The conversation next door stops. He can hear Shiro start to laugh. Lance's muffled voice reaches his ears. "What the hell?"

Pidge is similarly chuckling. "I can't believe you actually said it! Oh, Shiro owes me 5 GAK." They reach over and hit the wall three times with their fist. Two sharp knocks follow from the other side. 

"Quit. Betting. On. My. Love. Life." 

"Ah, so you're admitting it now?" Pidge hops off of the bed and picks up the package. They turn it over in their hands. "That you want a love life?" 

Keith rolls his eyes. "How do you suppose that?" 

They continue to examine the parcel. "Well, you said it. 'Quit betting on my love life.' Unless I'm mistaken, that usually means someone has one, or wants one at the very least." 

"Oh my god, I'm not talking about this with a 14-gear old." 

Pidge snorts. "I'm 15 now, remember? Besides, we all know you like him. Think fast!"

He has to throw his hands up quickly in order to catch the package. He drops it on his bed. "What do you mean, 'I like him'?"

"Exactly what I said, idiot." They cross their arms and look at him. 

Keith huffs, feeling his face blossom with color. "I don't like him," he denies. 

"The training room incident says otherwise." 

"Sexual attraction does not mean emotional attraction." 

Pidge makes a horrified sort of sound. "Gross, Keith!" 

Just like that, Keith knows how to get rid of them. "What? Does the idea of me boning someone creep you out?" He struggles to keep his face expressionless. 

They groan in disgust. "If the conversation is going to turn to your sexual preferences, I'm leaving. I do  _not_ need to hear how much you want to fuck Lance." 

They make their escape as Keith splutters. With no one to yell at, he flops down on the bed and covers his face with his hands. 

He doesn't want to fuck Lance... does he? 

He can't lie and say that the thought of sucking Lance off didn't fill him with a sort of smug curiosity. After watching Lance stare at him the way he had, some part of him is certain Lance wouldn't be too opposed to the idea. He just knows that Lance would go along with it, and maybe even enjoy it. 

This part of him is unnoticed due to his utter embarrassment. 

He had been trying so hard to keep the thoughts from earlier out of his head. But Pidge just had to bring them back to the front of his mind. 

Now he's thinking about it again. 

He tries to shut his brain off, even going so far as to start exercising in the middle of his room, trying to fall into the mind-numbing patterns he'd achieved before. But it's no use. He can't stop thinking about Lance. 

He skips dinner. When someone knocks on the door, he pretends to be asleep. He doesn't want to risk seeing the blue paladin. He knows he should talk to him about all of this and clear the air, but he's positive he won't even be able to look at Lance for a few days without blushing. 

Why did this have to happen to  _him_ , he wonders. Is this his punishment for being so unashamedly, irreversibly gay? If so, the universe is cruel. 

He falls asleep that night thinking  _fuck the universe._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck my life, amiright? 
> 
> With that shit aside, I'm now drawing inspiration from another fic that I binge read at 2 am. It's called Let Me Catch My Breath. It's really good. Go check it out.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Lance makes his way resolutely to the dining room with a bowl of food goo, rehearsing in his head how he plans to demand to go on the next excursion. He plans how he will point out that he needs the exercise after being in the pod, and that it will help him bond with the others even more. 

Almost to his disappointment, though, he doesn't get the chance. When he arrives in the dining hall, he's surprised to find it empty. Either he's the first one awake, which is unlikely, or it's simply later than he had originally thought. He sits down with a sigh and begins to shovel food goo into his mouth. 

While he eats, he decides he'll go to the training deck and try to find someone there. If he's being honest with himself, he wants to find Keith. But he's lying to himself, so he convinces himself it's because he needs to catch up on his training. Of course, he does need to train. But that's not his only motive.  

When his food has disappeared from his plate, he takes it into the kitchen and sets it down. He'll clean it later. For now, he exits the kitchen and begins the series of twists and turns that will take him to the training deck. 

He's not surprised to find someone there already, but he is surprised that it's Allura, dressed in her combat gear. He had assumed she was piloting the ship. She doesn't seem to hear him enter, another surprising fact. He'd swear she has the hearing of a bat. "Hey, Princess," he says casually. 

She shrieks and whips around. In her hands is a rod. It looks unassuming, but Lance barely has to glance at it to know it can be deadly. "Lance!" She sounds embarrassed, like a child caught with her hand full of sweets. "What are... What are you doing in here?" She stammers. 

He raises an eyebrow. "Training?" He pulls his jacket off and throws it into a corner. "We doing this or what?" 

Allura pauses, then nods. She seems grateful that he's chosen not to make any comments, for once. "Yes, we are. Level one?" 

Lance grins. "You know it. We're not all masochists like Keith." 

The Princess laughs. Lance notices how at ease she is here, how relaxed. He wonders if she spent much time in here as a child, and it suddenly occurs to him he doesn't know much about her at all. 

He has no time to ask questions, though. Allura commands, "Begin training sequence, level one!" Bots swarm them, and they begin to spar. 

They spend a long time training. Allura proves to be perfectly compatent in combat, and it's not hard for Lance to figure out how to work with her. She moves like water, flowing and shifting gracefully across the floor. If Lance were to compare himself to water, which is his own element, after all, he might say he's a rushing stream: wild and strong, yet also reserved at times, when the river is calm. Allura is a still lake: picture perfect and stunning until someone throws a rock, then rippling and absorbing the impact to accomodate the shift. 

When they finally end the training sequence, Lance has worked up a good sweat. He's pleased to see that Allura looks fairly disheveled as well. "Good to know even alien princesses can look human sometimes," he comments. 

Allura rolls her eyes. "And what do you mean by that?" She asks. She doesn't seem annoyed, like she usually does with him. Just curious. 

He almost wants to say forget it, to back out. But he's Lance. He ponders for a moment, wondering how to phrase it. "Sometimes," he starts, "I forget you're not human. You act human a lot, Coran too. And when either of you does anything humans don't or can't do, it's kind of like a slap to the face. It makes me remember where we are and what we're doing here. It's like suddenly being reminded that I'm not just a normal guy hanging out with his friends, I'm a Paladin of Voltron. A defender of the universe, or whatever. Back on Earth, we didn't even know what Voltron was. And now we're here, expected to carry on a legacy none of us knew was ours." He pauses, catches his breath. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that when you or Coran do stuff that make you guys seem human, it reminds me of home. It reminds me what I'm fighting for. And I know that while I want to go home, I can't. Not until my family is safe." 

Allura says nothing for a moment, simply staring at him. It occurs to him he may have overshared. 

When she finally speaks, she doesn't say what he's expecting. "I think I understand," she says slowly. "If I had a family, I would also do everything in my power to protect them." Her face grows heavy with sorrow. 

Lance nods. He's not the best at comforting sad alien princesses, but he takes a shot. "Like King Alfor did when he sent the Lions away, right? He was doing what he thought was right, what probably looked like the only way to protect you from Zarkon." 

He can tell by the way Allura's shoulders tremble for a moment that she's fighting tears. He's seen the signs enough with his sisters to know. "Thank you, Lance." Her voice cracks. "If you'll excuse me, I need to return to the bridge."

Lance takes that as girl code for "I need to be alone for a minute." He nods and goes to fetch his jacket. 

As he keys open the door, he stops. "We should train together again some time," he says. "You kicked serious tail earlier." 

He doesn't turn, but he can hear the hint of a smile in her voice. "We should, indeed. Your hand combat could be compared to the mice." 

He gasps dramatically, and keys the door closed to the sound of Allura laughing. He goes off in search of fresh clothes for a shower with the thought that maybe he does have a friend in the princess, after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this took ages! A lot longer than I thought anyway. As always, a big thank you to my lovely coauthor, @Lrtvldtrt, and my amazing editor, @betareil. They're my best friends and I can't thank them enough for helping me, because I'm a wreck when writing by myself. 
> 
> So, as I'm sure you know, I haven't been posting regularly. At all. And now that I'm starting senior year in high school (Year 12 (13?) for those not in the States) it's likely I'll update even less often. I need to figure out what I'm going to do with my life, get a job, a car, apply to colleges. It's going to be a crazy year. However, I'll try to have a chapter up at least once a month, even if it's just a filler, because at least I'll be writing something. 
> 
> Either way, thanks for reading this. I know I've got a lot of hits on this, to me at least, but I don't actually know how many people are reading this. So if you could, just drop a comment and let me know, if you're a registered user. If not, then this obviously doesn't apply to you. I won't stop writing this if only 2 or 3 people are reading it, I just want to know what my readers expect of me.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is Horny.  
> Keith is Mildly Confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. Just, I know. I never, ever promised updates would come regularly, but this is just ridiculous. I'm so sorry. This is literally just a filler chapter, but it's better than nothing? Have a brief scene wher Lance finds out just how hopeless this thing for Keith is. 
> 
> May want to tread carefully with this one, things will get a little messy.

_Lance looked around as he heard a voice call his name. He didn't know where he was, but he knew the voice. "Keith?" He called._

_The boy crept out from behind a plant. "I was wondering when you would find me, Lance," he said, sounding just annoyed enough to be endearing._

_"What are you doing here?" Lance questioned. It felt like Keith wasn't supposed to be around._

_Keith kept coming closer, until their noses were nearly touching. "You invited me here, Sharpshooter," he muttered. "I'm not just going to ignore my boyfriend."_

_Lance felt his eyes go wide. "What? Boyfriend?!"_

_"Mmhm. You don't remember? After that little, er, incident in the training room?" Keith looked at him expectantly._

_Lance's mind took him to the scene immediately. He felt his face grow hot as he remembered what he'd seen. "Keith, I-"_

_Keith took advantage of his hesitance and leaned forward, kissing his lips quickly. Lance went stiff. "It's alright to want me, Lance. I want you, too."_

_"You do?"_

_"Who else would I have been thinking about?" Keith trailed a hand down Lance's chest. "You would look so pretty."_

_This time, when Keith kissed him, he didn't hesitate to pull him closer._

 

Lance came awake with a start, sitting up a bit before collapsing back against his pillows. "Holy shit," he muttered. 

He felt his heart begin to thud as he recalled his dream. There was no way he just had a fantasy about Keith McMullet Kogane. No way he dreamed up a Keith that had had a boner because of him. 

No way he had a boner because of Keith Kogane. 

He knew he was lying to himself, of course. But he didn't want to acknowledge that unless he absolutely had to.

Unfortunately, as he gathered his things, left his room, and went down the hall to the showers, he realized that he would most likely have to.  

Lance McClain was no stranger to wet dreams, or even just normal boner-inducing dreams. When you were bi, this only happened twice as often. So he knew the drill. He knew how this went by now, and he knew there was only one way to get rid of his little problem. 

He made sure the all of the showers were empty before he set his things down and began to strip. He turned to water on full blast and let it warm for a moment before stepping in. It hit his back like a wave of stress-releasing magic, and he sighed. 

He washed his hair first. No point in washing his body just yet, but he could hold out long enough to shampoo and condition his hair. He also washed his face. Beauty before booty. 

When he could stall no longer, he turned and leaned his back against the wall. He wrapped a hand around his dick and closed his eyes. He let his mind run wild. 

He wasn't expecting his mind to be fully focused on Keith. 

He knew better than to fight it, so he let it happen. He let himself imagine how Keith might sound during sex, what he might be into. He let himself play out the training room in his head again, only this time he didn't run. This time, he pushed Keith against the back wall and kissed him long and hard. He bit marks into Keith's neck and dug fingers into his hips. He turned Keith into putty and then helped Keith with his little friend. He had Keith gasping and writhing at his touch, clinging to him in a way that was needy and desperate but still somehow exactly like Keith. Then Keith returned the favor. 

His mind turned his fantasy into another one. He imagined that it was not his own hand touching his cock, but Keith's. He imagined Keith in the stall with him, jerking him off with the practice of someone who's jacked off more than a few times. He imagined the fiery look in Keith's eyes, the hunger. He imagine how Keith might smirk as he turned Lance into a needy mess, how his lip might curl in satisfaction as Lance came into his hand. 

That image was his undoing. Lance came with a loud, ragged gasp as he slumped back against the wall. He stayed that way for several minutes, trying to catch his breath. He straightened when he heard the door open, and footsteps walk past his stall. He cleaned himself up and shut the water off, cursing internally. 

His panic only increased when he emerged to see none other than Keith standing by a nearby stall, his shirt halfway off. Lance coughed and looked away hastily. 

"Oh, hey, Lance," Keith greeted. "You're up early." 

He was met only with silence as Lance grabbed his stuff and practically flew out the door. 

Back in his room, Lance got dressed while having an intense debate with himself. Half of him said there was no way Keith had heard him. The other half told him he was fucked. Both sides were true. 

Whether Keith had heard him or not, Lance had just jacked off to some fantasy of him. Even if Keith never found out, Lance was still about to die. Partly because of embarrassment, partly because of disgust. 

Lance made the sudden and irrational decision to try to avoid Keith until he forgot about what happened in the shower. It might take a few days, but he'd get there. 

If only it could be that easy.

**Author's Note:**

> One thing I forgot to say: only certain pieces of this work are inspired by this work's 'parent fic,' but I thought it was a significant anough amount to warrant me tagging it as a parent fic. Only the sexy bits and mysterious alien species' are inspired by the work; the rest has come to me by various means. If at any time the authors of the parent work would like me to remove something they feel is too closely related to their own story, I will not hesitate to do so.


End file.
